LocalWhy

New Jersey

New Jersey, town by town

New Jersey has 21 counties and 564 municipalities. Much of what shapes a neighborhood — what gets built, which roads change, how land is preserved — is decided close to home. LocalWhy follows those decisions from the public record.

Who decides what

Three levels, one place

Most questions LocalWhy explains are decided by a town, inside rules the state sets, with the county in between.

  1. 01

    Your town

    The governing body — in Montgomery, the Township Committee — adopts ordinances, the municipal budget and redevelopment plans. The planning board and zoning board of adjustment decide most development applications.

  2. 02

    Your county

    The Board of County Commissioners (called freeholders until 2021) adopts the county budget and is responsible for county roads, bridges and other county-level services.

  3. 03

    The state

    State law sets the rules towns work within: the Municipal Land Use Law for planning and zoning, the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law for redevelopment, and each town's affordable-housing obligation.

21 counties

Counties

Counties with LocalWhy coverage are linked.

  • Atlantic
  • Bergen
  • Burlington
  • Camden
  • Cape May
  • Cumberland
  • Essex
  • Gloucester
  • Hudson
  • Hunterdon
  • Mercer
  • Middlesex
  • Monmouth
  • Morris
  • Ocean
  • Passaic
  • Salem
  • Somerset 1 community →
  • Sussex
  • Union
  • Warren

Counts: State of New Jersey, Fast Facts.

Covered now

Where to start

Somerset County, New Jersey

Montgomery Township

The former Kenvue campus, the Fourth Round housing plan, redevelopment, flooding, PILOTs and the other decisions in front of the Township Committee and Planning Board.

Open issues

Issue pages last reviewed

Open Montgomery Township →